There are not many reasons why a person would choose to take a stimulant and depressant drug at the same time besides recreational or partying purposes. Only under the rarest of medical circumstances do doctors recommend mixing the two different categories of drugs.
Stimulants and depressants lie on polar ends of the drug spectrum. Stimulants increase mental and/or physical function and produce side effects such as increased energy and alertness. On the other hand, depressants slow down physical and mental function to produce relaxing, sedative and tranquilizing side effects. When a person takes both drugs at the same time, the body receives mixed messages requesting different function.
What Happens When You Combine a Stimulant with a Depressant?
There are hundreds of different stimulants and depressants, allowing for many different results when combined. Mixing a stimulant and depressant is extremely dangerous and the body’s reaction is often unpredictable.
The two types of drug send contradicting messages to the body; as a result the body’s function is greatly impaired.
To make matters worse, most people who mix narcotics are using illicit substances. Illegal narcotics such as cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, or marijuana are forbidden because of the extremely powerful and addictive side effects they possess. By mixing illicit drugs, the side effects become an even greater threat.
Mixing stimulants and depressants puts the body under immense pressure. The cardiovascular, respiratory and central nervous systems are put into a frenzy with the simultaneous mixed messages to speed up and slow down.
The consequences of this are severe and can result in one or more of the following situations:
- Coma
- Slowed, depressed or stopped breathing
- Cardiac arrest, heart attack or heart failure
- Overdose
- Death
Dangers of Mixing Stimulant Drugs with Alcohol
While heavy drug users have mixed stimulants and depressants for years, the activity has caught on by more social and episodic users. A new trend has emerged: mixing stimulants or energy drinks with alcohol. This deadly combination is a popular drink choice at bars and can even be picked up at a gas stations and convenient stores.
Alcohol is a depressant, and its interaction with a stimulant is no less dangerous than other narcotic depressants. The appeal behind the combination is that one can pump or liven themselves up with the stimulant and feel less drowsy, depressed or impaired from the alcohol. In reality, energy drinks combined with alcohol only numb people to how intoxicated they really are, which allows them to believe they can drink more.
The results are similar to mixing narcotics and include the following:
- Coma
- Respiratory depression
- Cardiac depression
- Impaired mental/physical coordination
- Dehydration
- Seizures
- Overdose
- Death
Getting Help for Social and Recreational Drug Abuse
Mixing drugs is serious drug abuse. Those who are willing to risk their lives for social or recreational purpose have a serious drug abuse problem. While drug use may start out as occasional fun, a very real problem can develop quickly.
If you feel like you have lost control to your drug habit, please call our toll-free helpline, 855-808-6212. We are here 24 hours a day to help you find the right treatment option that can guide you towards a safe recovery. Drugs are not something to experiment with; the results may be life-threatening.